Isolation book cover WIP - feedback thread-

[carlianne]

Hello! So this is sort of where I've landed for the prompt this month. I needed to do a book cover so originally I was like "oh, I can do Rapunzel can she's like the poster child for isolation." But then I got bored of the idea and @Neha-Rawat encouraged me to mix up the character, so now we have Rapunzo!

I'm still in thumb stages so I can switch to another idea or make major changes. (I have a few other ideas if this doesn't pan out). So feel free to say anything!

Some questions/ concerns. Does this have enough story? Should a cover even have story telling? Is it engaging? I was thinking maybe of putting chains on his wrists and have a princess in the background, so you like that idea? Does that take away from the feeling of Isolation?

Does this feel like isolation?

Any thoughts on composition?

Anything else I could consider or do because this is a book cover?

Thanks all!

[Frost Drive]

@carlianne said in Isolation book cover WIP - feedback thread-:

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This looks really cool for being such a quick drawing wow. I really gotta do this more, thanks for inspiring me on that!!!!

[theprairiefox]

@carlianne I think having a princess would add a lot of storytelling and funny. And like Jake and Lee said funny always wins!

You know a princess climbing his beard to save him would be hilarious!

[Jeremy Ross]

Hi @carlianne, what a great concept!

What if you made the window higher on the tower to add elevation? Right now it looks like he could jump out rather than use his beard to be saved.

Perhaps the perspective can be looking down with narrowed tower and emphasis on Rapunzo?

Just my thoughts, but great book cover concept!

[carlianne]

@Frost-Drive Thanks!! I didn't quite make it to 50 thumbs like Lee suggests, but I'm at about 35! And seeing as I might still do more, I may still hit it lolol

@theprairiefox Awesome!! I'm def. going to add the princess. Would having the princess climb his beard take away from the isolation feeling?

@Jeremy-Ross Thank you so much!! And you're totally right, I will definitely push the perspective. I think I tried a thumb like that, I'll go compare!

[theprairiefox]

@carlianne adding the princess might take away from the isolation.

But you could have the princess doing something to reinforce the isolation. For example, in my pictures I am adding a mailman and making them reflect the joy of getting mail when you have been isolated. (I will be posting the value studies shortly for you to see in my WIP thread.)

I wonder if you could have the princess bringing him toilet paper or groceries or something? TP would be pretty funny... other things that might work would be books or puzzles or something to do while isolated.

[TessaW]

Haha, I love people's suggestions. Adding the princess maybe detracts from the isolation theme slightly- but I do like how it adds to the humor and adds to the idea that isolation doesn't have to last forever and that there's hope on the horizon,

The princess bringing supplies is also hilarious and would make this feel like a covid-19 commentary with the timing- it would make the interpretation more specific.

The princess climbing the beard is also fun, but would add some unpredictability as far as the contest theme and judging goes, since it detracts from "isolation. It could work well in a portfolio though.

I think pushing the perspective is a good idea in any case. One possible idea that may or may not work would be putting the background princess on a hill. It could indicate it's not a strait path on ground level to the tower and may give more interpretation to the tower possibly being higher up, if they are in an environment with hills and valleys. Does that make sense?

[Neha Rawat]

Oh great input on having the princess on a hill @TessaW ! I think that'll really add to the implicit height of the tower In that case you may not need to change the perspective too much either.
The Princess getting toilet roll is really funny! It would work well for this prompt but not so much for a portfolio piece I think because it's too specific and timely. If you're feeling reaalllly ambitious, you can create different versions for the contest and portfolio coz the concept is great for both!

[carlianne]

Okay do you like option 1, 2 or 3 better! And is that perspective working better?

@theprairiefox @Jeremy-Ross

[Jeremy Ross]

Definitely better @carlianne! I like #2 for May prompt and #3 for a cover portfolio piece! Nicely done!

[jdubz]

#2 is an immediate read for me on what's going on and it was instantly engaging.

[carlianne]

I went with #3 as I'm doing the contests more for my portfolio than anything else. Here is my color study

Any additional feedback welcome!

[LauraA]

@carlianne I think you've nailed it! It has your color palette, and it's all very clear at the same time. Go for it!

[Coley]

Gorgeous colors! Love it!

[carlianne]

I'm starting to clean up details and make some final decisions on the drawing, any thought on which pose is better and reads more like isolation?

[TessaW]

I like A. He opens us up to the whole scene, but he hasn't quite noticed the princess-in-shining armor yet and it amps up the anticipation.

[carlianne]

@TessaW Thanks Tessa!